Another crazy three days at work and I begin to think about the similarities of Seal Team 6 and nurses. Methodical. Precise.
Nursing is not a glorious profession. Even though my father thinks I sit at the bedside of the sick and dying and hold their hands all day, the fact of the matter is, I simply do not have the time. We run around attempting to tread water with …
Nursing is methodical and precise, like military special ops
One of my professors teaches psychology, but he was hired as a “generalist” meaning that he has no area of specialization when he’s teaching. He ends up with all the 101 classes. And I love that. Trained as a biopsychologist, he’s now known as a clinical psychologist and is one of the best in the area.
As I walked into the class the first day and he was going over standard …
3 easy ways for doctors to respect patients
I’ve spent a lot of space on this site writing about participating in your healthcare so you get the right care.
And, I talked about developing a “relationship” with your doctor so you can effectively communicate. Relationship does not mean drinking buddy, golf partner, or someone to do shopping with. What is meant by “relationship” is developing a trust that allows you to effectively and unashamedly discuss your medical concerns and question treatment options …
Why developing trust with your doctor is important
Are there moments when caregiving makes you want to scream?
Any number of things related to caring for your aging parent can cause you to feel like you’re at the end of the proverbial rope including:
But here’s where things get a bit dicey: While …
Caregiver burnout is just a fancy term for exhaustion
Many of you know that a judge in Pennsylvania has determined that the popular “I Heart Boobies” bracelets worn by middle school students are a form of free speech intended to raise awareness of breast cancer and cannot be restricted by schools.
As much as I love a good double-entrendre, I find the entire situation to be sad, particularly the misinformed comments I’ve seen made by parents of …
The problem with I Heart Boobies bracelets worn by middle school students
As I look back over my 10 year career in obstetrics and gynecology, I am sometimes struck at how many things have been discovered in this time period.
When I started the origin of pre-eclampsia was unknown, and now we know that it likely originates in an overabundance of a molecule called Soluble FMS-Like Tyrosine Kinase, a competitive inhibitor to natural angiogenesis in the placenta. Ten years ago the origins of …
Explaining an abnormal pap smear is no longer simple
It’s hard to find anyone who would argue against keeping things “plain and simple.” Or would they?
Is it possible that the imperative to create simple health information has over-promised – hasn’t lived up to its billing? What if the complexity of health, science and technology information in the first half of the 21st century requires more than simple simplicity?
Think back to swine flu.
Dateline November 2009: We were awash in …
Why don’t simple messages convince people to take action?
A recurring theme on e_Patients.net is the need for empowered, engaged patients to understand what they read about science. It’s true when researching treatments for one’s condition, it’s true when considering government policy proposals, it’s true when reading advice based on statistics. If you take any journal article at face value, you may get severely misled; you need to think critically.
Sometimes there’s corruption (e.g. the fraudulent vaccine/autism data reported …
Every new scientific finding to be nothing more than a first draft
A fascinating, beautifully-written article on a death penalty granted to a most likely innocent man, with interesting details on fire dynamics and the history of the judicial system pertaining to the death penalty.
Reading about the system in place that should prevent an innocent man from being wrongfully executed reminds me of the supposed system that prevents medical errors from occurring – both are imperfect, with innocent victims falling through …
What the death penalty has to do with medical errors
Women have a long history of risking health for beauty. But several developments over the past few months suggest they might be starting to choose safer options.
1. Temporary tattoos. The latest trend on the runway and in the beauty isle is temporary tattoos, according to the advertising firm JWT. Chanel now offers limited-edition skin art, and Beyoncé has signed up to help sell Temptu’s product. Permanent tattoos not only cost …
Women are now choosing safer options for beauty
Dear Members of the Illinois State Board of Education,
As a parent of a child attending Illinois Public Schools, a taxpayer, and a board-certified pediatric allergist and immunologist, I was distressed to hear of the irresponsible comments made by Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Members Catherine Campbell and Lawrence Gregorash regarding the requirement for Illinois schools to have a food allergy policy in place by 2011.
When the parents …
The insensitivity towards kids with food allergies
My friend Nancy went for physical therapy for her back pain the other day, and was really surprised by what she saw there: the place was full of kids.
“Yeah, it’s like this now,” said the therapist when Nancy asked about it. “It’s the sports.”
It’s not that kids are getting clumsier or having more accidents. The injuries that are sending kids to physical therapy are overuse injuries. Kids these days are …
The achievement culture problem in our country
Privacy, is it important to you? Do you believe that your medical and personal information should be kept in strict privacy? Do you expect your doctor to keep your information private? What is the cost of privacy?
The computer I am typing this article on is protected by Norton’s Security Suite and by Comcast’s Constant Guard. My friends, family, and patients invest a small fortune every year to keep their …
Your medical information is not private, and it’s sold routinely
Back in 2009, Dr. Amy Ship gave a moving acceptance speech when she received the annual Compassionate Caregiver Award from the Schwartz Center.
The most memorable tag line from the speech was, “There is no billing code for compassion.” This resonated with so many of us — patients and providers — in part because it set forth the proposition that compassionate care should be an inherent aspect …
There is no billing code for compassion
“If I’d known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.”
-Eubie Blake
He leaned forward, energetically listening to my conversation with his daughter. There was more than one cancer treatment option. We reviewed everything and she asked what he could expect with either a major surgery or seven weeks of daily radiation treatments. Soon, both the father and daughter were peppering me with questions about …
The different types of frail to consider before surgery
In his online essay, This Won’t Hurt A Bit, cardiologist Dr. Eric Van De Graaff tells his own story of being a hospital patient after surviving a motorcycle accident while he was in med school. His experiences as a patient will sound very familiar to heart patients, and the lessons he learned while on the other end of the stethoscope may very well have made him a far better doctor.
A …
Being a patient is an unforgettable form of medical education
Today the patient is far different than the patient of a few decades ago. Patients can find healthcare information just as easily as a physician and many patients are taking a greater role in their healthcare and want to be involved in the decision making and work with the doctor as a team with the doctor being the captain of the healthcare ship. This new attitude has been referred to …
Patients want and need to take a greater role in their medical care
Bullies are terrorizing residents in long-term care and assisted living facilities, senior centers, and retirement communities around the country. The first time I witnessed older adults bullying others was at a senior center where, after a great deal of resistance from members, the age for joining the center had finally been lowered from 62 to 55 years old. Most local senior centers had already lowered their membership age years …
Bullies in older adult communities
When physician blogger Kevin Pho wrote about involving patients in healthcare reform in a recent article in USA Today, one thing he failed to mention is a novel government initiative that has been flying below most of our radar screens — the “Partnership for Patients: Better Care — Lower Costs.”
Why was it necessary to call out patient centeredness as a separate initiative?
Although no one disputes that those of us …
Partnership for Patients to improve patient safety
I’ve noticed a certain dilemma that enters into therapy sessions with mothers over the years. Mothers often feel in a bind and sometimes this bind distorts the way they think about their lives … or is it that their thinking distorts the way they feel? The sequence of events generally runs like this – the strong urge to have a family – the joy of being pregnant – the horror …
What a psychiatrist learned during therapy sessions with mothers
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